Care in Chronic Pyelonephritis

Summary:

The content is organized into twelve sections, starting with an introduction. The first section offers insights into the anatomy and physiology of the kidney. This is followed by an in-depth exploration of chronic pyelonephritis, its etiopathogenesis, and its pathological anatomy. A critical table is presented in the fifth section, followed by detailed paraclinical investigations. Subsequent sections delve into the diagnostic processes, the evolution and prognosis of the disease, its potential complications, and treatment methods. The nurse’s role in managing the condition is highlighted, followed by a case study to give practical insights. The content wraps up with a bibliography.

Excerpt:

Care in Chronic Pyelonephritis

INTRODUCTION

Chronic pyelonephritis is one of the most common kidney diseases. It evolves chronically, with periods of exacerbation, due to the persistence of factors favouring and maintaining the infection of the renal interstitial tissue, the prognosis of the disease being usually grim, because the infection also spreads late to the level of the renal glomeruli, causing the progressive installation of chronic renal failure. Thus, in chronic pyelonephritis, the nurse encounters a severe disease that requires complex, thorough care, demanding maximum seriousness and devotion from her.

The front paper highlights the nurse’s role in the care of a patient with chronic pyelonephritis, a disease often with multiple attacks, which affects both the physical condition and the patient’s mental status. For this reason, the nurse must be prepared professionally and spiritually to fulfil all the medical needs and requests of this category of patients. At the same time, she must know the triggering and favouring factors of the disease, the main manifestations and the necessary preparations for paraclinical investigations, to establish the patient’s main needs and related care.

Therefore, the work presented is structured in two parts: a theoretical one, which includes general notions about chronic pyelonephritis (definition, epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, clinical and paraclinical picture and drug treatment of the disease) and the second part, which includes the necessary care, described care based on a personal study carried out on three patients hospitalized at the Timișoara County Clinical Hospital, during the period 1. IV. 2010- 30. V. 2010, with the diagnosis of chronic pyelonephritis.